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NCAA WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

May 22, 2018

Stillwater, Oklahoma

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by head coach Mic Potter and student athletes Kristen Gillman, Cheyenne Knight and Lauren Stephenson. Coach, if you would just an opening statement and we'll do the same with the players.

MIC POTTER: Well, we're really excited about this, our first time in match play in four years, and I've always felt like we have a great match play team. These three have had tremendous success. Kristen is a U.S. Amateur champion, Cheyenne has played in in U.S. Junior Girls Amateurs, Lauren holds the record for most holes played in a match in a USGA event last year in the U.S. Amateur, and then the rest of our team, Lakareber Abe, has been finalist at the Junior Girls, and Angelica Moresco, our fifth player, has played in at least two European girls' teams, and her team won in the second format a few years ago, and she's on the women's team now and they were in the finals last year. So we have a wealth of match play experience, it's just been a matter of getting there.

And these three are great players. The way they've played throughout the year, if we just kept calm, tried too hard, we were going to be a factor in stroke play in this tournament. I'm really happy with how they've handled this, and we're really excited to be in the finals.

Q. Mic, you talked about these three players and the impact they've had on the school, but where does this big three rank in terms of other big threes that you may have coached?
MIC POTTER: I guess we have a nickname. Someone asked me today if we had three first-team All-Americans, and I wasn't really -- I said no. I wasn't really sure. I know we had Brooke Pancake and Camilla Lennarth, Stephanie Meadow and Emma Talley, and I don't know if we had three first-teamers all in the same, but these are as good as any leaders we've had to this day, and this is the best team I've ever had, and I've coached 30 something years, 35, I guess, even more, and this is the best team I've ever had, front to back. We have a lot of depth this year. Lakareber is an all-American before she got injured her sophomore year, and Angelica in our fifth spot has meant a lot to us, has been someone we can depend on for her rounds, especially toward the end of the year. These three playing the way they do, we just get more one good score, and we're a really good team.

Q. Lauren, talk about your match today, some of the keys. You played two matches. Take us through the mindset of getting through both.
LAUREN STEPHENSON: Yeah, I just felt I came out this morning a little bit frustrated after yesterday with how I finished. Wasn't too happy with how I hit the ball. Just really wanted to focus on my game today and hit it as best I could. Yesterday I was kind of hoping that I would hit good shots, and today I just tried to hit good shots like I know how I can.

So yeah, today I think that the biggest thing was just staying consistent. I didn't miss too many greens, and I gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdies.

Q. Cheyenne, talk about your matches today.
CHEYENNE KNIGHT: Yeah, yesterday was kind of a disappointing day, but I didn't sleep too well last night, but we still have a chance to win the team competition, and now I learned a lot from yesterday, and I just came out like just with a -- like kind of fire about me because I just wanted to improve from yesterday.

In my first match didn't start out the best, but hung in there and won a lot of holes with par, so it wasn't too bad. We only played 14 holes because my teammates got it done.

But this afternoon, I didn't make any bogeys, hit a lot of good-quality shots, and coming down the stretch, I made some good putts. A long one, but made a good par save on 16. But I had no idea where I stood or what the other girls were doing. But just played solid, and that's what you have to do like when you play NCAA teams, you're going to win a hole with a birdie, so really keeping yourself in the fairway and in the short grass and putting it on the green and giving yourself a look because your opponent is not really going to make a mistake, so you just have to kind of just be mentally engaged and know that you have to like demand a lot of yourself.

Q. Kristen, just quickly talk about your matches today and also transition to what it's going to take tomorrow to win the national championship.
KRISTEN GILLMAN: Yeah, my match today, I knew it was really important to hit a lot of fairways and greens, so I focused a lot on that. My first match I didn't make any bogeys, and in my second match I messed up a few holes, but luckily I was able to make quite a bit of birdies, so I was able to get that done. Going into tomorrow, I think we can have the same mindset as we did today, just not focus too much on who you're playing against and just go out there and try to put the shots in the best places and just try to beat the golf course.

Q. Kristen and Cheyenne, your teammate over here is the first player in Division I women's golf history to finish the season with a sub-70 scoring average. What has it been like watching her play this season, and just how incredible is that stat?
CHEYENNE KNIGHT: Yeah, well, first of all, Lauren transferring just to begin with from Clemson has helped us so much, and I'm just so grateful that she decided to be a part of our team. Lauren works really hard on her game and drives it very straight, and honestly last year, she was not a good putter, and she will tell anyone that. But just to see her like really kind of flip a switch, I guess, and just be like, it's my weakness, I'm going to make it my strength, and honestly, like she's a great putter. When she like steps over it, you know that she's confident, you know that she's going to make it. I mean, she's just a well-rounded, like great in every aspect of her game. She's small, but she hits it a long way, and she's a very fierce competitor. She's been good to compete against. I mean, us three, I feel like we're very competitive with each other but like in a good way. We bring out the best in each other. I want them to do well, but I also want to do well. I want us to always shoot under par, but it's incredible what she's done this year, being in contention almost every tournament.

KRISTEN GILLMAN: Yeah, it's really cool seeing that. It's cool seeing how hard all of us, all of our teammates work, and Lauren has worked so hard, and to be able to see that firsthand and the success she's had this year, it's really cool, and I feel like she has pushed us all to become a better player, and so I'm very grateful for her.

Q. Coach, if you could talk about tomorrow's match. How do you come back tomorrow and duplicate what you did today?
MIC POTTER: Well, first of all, I was really glad we didn't win the tiebreaker because we were on the 18th green when Bianca made that putt for eagle to get the tie for the eighth spot, and then the playoff, what a tremendous momentum boost for them. Really, we've got a great team, but I'd rather have not played them today right off the bat, and they've proven that they're riding on it, what they gained that afternoon. They're a really good team. As the girls all said, though, our job is to play our game, to drive it in the fairway, give our self good angles to approach the holes, hit smart shots into the green and use the great putting touch that all of our girls have, give ourselves a chance for a few birdies at the hole.

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